literacy

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a podium

Implementation of Arkansas LEARNS Act continues with literacy coach training

BY: - August 29, 2023

Dozens of coaches are preparing to help Arkansas students meet literacy standards outlined in the LEARNS Act, an expansive new education law backed by the governor.  During a training session Monday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the new literacy coaches she knows the impact a single teacher can have on a student because an educator […]

Olive Loom exterior in Fayetteville Arkansas

Arkansas LEARNS Act repeal group adds more petition drives, intimidation hotline

BY: - July 26, 2023

The group behind a ballot referendum to repeal the LEARNS Act is organizing more petition-gathering events ahead of Monday’s signature submission deadline.  Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students also on Wednesday launched a hotline where people can report if they’ve experienced intimidation for participating in the petition process. CAPES needs to collect more than […]

Arkansas education department searching for LEARNS Act literacy coaches

BY: - May 17, 2023

The Arkansas Department of Education is seeking statewide literacy coaches to help meet literacy standards set in the LEARNS Act, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sweeping education legislation.  The literacy coaches will “support teachers and promote evidence-based literacy instruction aligned to the Science of Reading” in kindergarten through third grade classrooms in public schools with a […]

Lawmakers okay reallocation of $34 million for LEARNS Act initiatives

BY: - May 16, 2023

An Arkansas Legislative Council committee on Tuesday approved the reallocation of $34.7 million in federal recovery funding to support provisions of the LEARNS Act, a new law that changes multiple aspects of the state’s education system, including teacher pay, graduation requirements and literacy standards.  Members of the ALC’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee advanced […]

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Governor shares details of education overhaul proposal

BY: and - February 8, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday unveiled some details of her long-awaited education overhaul plan, which includes raising the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 and rolling out a new school voucher program that will eventually be available to all Arkansans.  During a press conference inside the Capitol, Sanders said providing every child with access to […]

Arkansas Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva (second from right) lists some of the priorities in the executive order signed Wednesday by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (right). The order was the second in Sanders' first two days in office to focus on Arkansas' education system. (Photo by Hunter Field/Arkansas Advocate)

Sanders signs wide-ranging executive order on education, promises bill ‘very soon’

BY: - January 11, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders continued to detail her education agenda Wednesday, her second day as governor of Arkansas, by signing an executive order covering a variety of issues, including literacy, school choice and early childhood education. Sanders called the order “a comprehensive approach [to] education that we want to parallel” with a single bill that […]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders addresses the crowd after she was sworn in as the 47th Governor of Arkansas in January 2023. (Karen E. Segrave/Arkansas Advocate)

Sarah Huckabee Sanders sworn in as Arkansas’ first female governor

BY: and - January 10, 2023

This was updated at 5:55 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2023. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her first speeches as Arkansas’ 47th governor described herself as part of a new generation of Republicans eager to limit the role of government. With her swearing in by the state’s chief justice, Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas, […]

Poll worker and voter in Georgia in May 2022.

The fight against an age-old effort to block Americans from voting

BY: and - October 10, 2022

This ProPublica story was co-published with Gray TV/Investigate TV and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. It is part of The Right to Read, a series examining America’s literacy crisis.   For nearly 10 hours on Georgia’s primary day, Olivia Coley-Pearson tracked down every potential voter she could find, working two cellphones as […]